Kitchen Extension in Fulham, SW6
London service guide: Kitchen extensions.
Kitchen extension in Fulham SW6 — kitchen extensions (single-storey rear or side-return) for properties on Fulham Road, New King’s Road, Parson’s Green Lane. A kitchen extension is a rear or side-return extension designed specifically to create an open-plan kitchen-diner. We coordinate the structural work, kitchen design, electrical rewire, and new plumbing in one fixed-price contract.
A kitchen extension in Fulham starts with the shape of the house. Hammersmith & Fulham's planning guidance says terraced houses, mostly late Victorian or Edwardian, make up a large part of the borough's housing: a narrow single-fronted main building of two or three floors, with or without a semi-basement, and a narrower back addition at the rear that is usually lower. It adds that the borough is already densely built, with little space between buildings, particularly in the south of the borough.
The planning rules matter just as much. The council has 44 conservation areas covering about half of the borough, restricts some permitted development rights in them, and lists flats, maisonettes and conservation-area properties among those without permitted development rights. Below, we set out how those rules, party walls and Building Regulations shape a side-return or rear kitchen extension in SW6.
Sources: LBHF Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (adopted February 2018), LBHF - Conservation areas, LBHF - Permitted development rights
The Fulham terrace and its back addition
A side-return extension fills the strip of garden beside the back addition. The council's guidance says the narrow space between neighbouring back additions can already be at the margins of acceptability for the rooms whose windows face into it, and that extending back additions further, particularly above ground level, will generally be resisted. Local Plan Policy DC4 asks for extensions that are subservient to the house and never dominate it in bulk, scale, materials or design, and existing extensions on a street are taken into account when a new proposal is judged.
Our measured survey records the house, the back addition, the side return and the neighbours' extensions on both sides, because a side infill, a wraparound and a straight rear extension each meet these rules differently.
Sources: LBHF Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (adopted February 2018), LBHF Local Plan (adopted February 2018)
Permitted development or a planning application
The council says most single houses have permitted development rights, although prior approval is needed for some larger home extensions. Under Class A of the General Permitted Development Order 2015, a single-storey rear extension to a terraced or semi-detached house may reach up to 3 metres beyond the original rear wall and up to 4 metres in height, among other limits. Off 'article 2(3) land', a category that includes conservation areas, up to 6 metres is possible through the prior approval route, which starts with a written description and plan sent to the council.
Side extensions are tighter. The Order does not permit an extension beyond a side wall of the original house that is more than one storey, taller than 4 metres or wider than half the original house, and on article 2(3) land it does not permit one beyond a side wall of the original house at all.
The council has also made Article 4 directions restricting permitted development at many properties, especially in conservation areas, including directions for Central Fulham, Fulham Park Gardens, Hurlingham, Studdridge Street, Walham Grove, Mimosa Street, Imperial Square and Fabian Road. For a listed house, listed building consent will more than likely be needed even where works are permitted development, and extending a listed building without it is a criminal offence.
We confirm all of this for the address before drawing; where work is permitted development, a lawful development certificate puts it on record.
Sources: LBHF - Permitted development rights, legislation.gov.uk - Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2 Part 1 Class A, legislation.gov.uk - Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 1 Part 1 (Article 2(3) land), LBHF - Properties affected by Article 4 Directions (register of directions), LBHF — Article 4 Directions (planning policy page), LBHF - Statutory listed buildings
Hammersmith & Fulham's rear extension standards
Where planning permission is needed, key principle HS4 of the council's Planning Guidance SPD says permission will not normally be granted for a rear extension that:
- is more than 3.5 metres long or, where the house has already been extended, takes the combined extensions more than 3.5 metres beyond the rear building line of the original back addition;
- comes within 4 metres of the rear boundary; or
- covers more than 50% of the open area at the rear of the house as originally built, counting earlier extensions.
Key principle HS6 applies a general 45-degree test, measured from ground level at the rear boundary where the neighbouring garden is under 9 metres long and from 2 metres above ground where it is longer, and HS7 says a rear extension should not worsen the outlook from lower rear habitable-room windows. The council encourages permitted development rear extensions to use the HS4 standards as a guide, and says that where garden space or the gap between buildings is already confined, it may not be appropriate to permit any rear extension.
We plot these lines on the survey before the kitchen layout is fixed.
Source: LBHF Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (adopted February 2018)
Designing for a Fulham conservation area
Key principle CAG3 asks for extensions sympathetic to the architectural character of their surroundings. The guidance says the rear building line, often a repeated pattern of original subordinate rear extensions, should be respected, that extension sizes should respect the symmetry of original additions in a terrace, and that materials should integrate with the house and its neighbours. Significant demolition in a conservation area needs planning permission, and a heritage statement is usually required.
We read the conservation area's character profile where the council has published one, photograph the rear elevations along the terrace and match brick, glazing and roof details to the original additions.
Sources: LBHF Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (adopted February 2018), LBHF - Conservation areas (controls and applications for demolition works)
Flood risk and the extension roof
The council's guidance says over 60% of the borough's area lies in Flood Zones 2 and 3; flood defences, including the Thames Barrier, protect it, but the council notes a risk of over-topping or breach remains. Key principle FR1 requires a site-specific Flood Risk Assessment for development proposals in those zones and in surface water flooding hotspots. It sees householder extensions as an opportunity for sustainable drainage, and key principle SuD5 says flat roofs in new developments should be living roofs, applying to all developments rather than only major sites.
We check the flood zone before drawing and decide early how a flat roof drains and whether it carries planting.
Source: LBHF Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (adopted February 2018)
Party walls, Building Regulations and working hours
GOV.UK says you must tell your neighbour before building on or at the boundary, working on a party wall or digging below and near their foundations, and section 6 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 covers excavation within three metres of their building to below its foundations, or within six metres where a 45-degree line drawn down from them is crossed. A neighbour's silence is not agreement, and if you cannot agree, surveyors settle what work happens, how and when, and who pays.
Building Regulations approval is separate from planning permission and you might need both, from the council's building control service or a registered building control approver. The council aims to keep noisy building work to 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or bank holidays.
We serve party wall notices with the drawings, record the adjoining walls' condition and keep noisy stages within those hours.
Sources: GOV.UK - Party walls and building work, legislation.gov.uk - Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 6, GOV.UK - Building regulations approval, LBHF - Permitted development rights, LBHF - Construction site noise and dust pollution
Planning the kitchen: layout, light and structure
Layout comes first. For a terraced house we usually compare a galley along the party wall with an island facing the garden, an L-shape turning the corner of the back addition, and a kitchen kept in the back addition with the extension given to dining. A side infill can darken the middle of the house, so rooflights or a glazed strip along the boundary wall keep daylight reaching the original rooms.
Opening the back addition and side return into one room usually means removing load-bearing walls; our own structural engineers design the steels and foundations and coordinate them with the ceiling, rooflights and units. For work within the existing footprint, see our kitchen renovation service in Fulham.
Extraction needs early thought too: the council says flues and pipes in a flat or maisonette need planning permission, and for a house in a conservation area or under an Article 4 direction, a proposal affecting the side or front elevation is likely to.
Source: LBHF - Planning frequently asked questions
Questions homeowners ask
Do I need planning permission for a kitchen extension in Fulham?
It depends on the house. The council lists flats, maisonettes, conservation-area properties, listed buildings and houses whose rights were removed by condition among properties without permitted development rights. Other houses may extend within the General Permitted Development Order's limits, unless an Article 4 direction applies.
How far can a rear kitchen extension go in Hammersmith & Fulham?
Under permitted development, up to 3 metres beyond the original rear wall of a terraced or semi-detached house, or 6 metres off article 2(3) land through prior approval. With a planning application, key principle HS4 normally rules out an extension more than 3.5 metres long, within 4 metres of the rear boundary or covering more than 50% of the original rear open area.
Can a side return be permitted development in a Fulham conservation area?
On article 2(3) land, which includes conservation areas, the General Permitted Development Order does not permit an extension beyond a side wall of the original house, and the council lists conservation-area properties among those without permitted development rights.
Can I extend the kitchen of a Fulham flat?
Only with planning permission: the council lists flats and maisonettes among properties without permitted development rights. GOV.UK notes that most flats are leasehold and the lease says whether you need permission to make alterations, so check it early.
Do I need to serve a party wall notice for a side return?
If you build on or at the boundary, work on a party wall, or dig below and near your neighbour's foundations, GOV.UK says you must tell them. Section 6 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 covers excavation within three metres of their building to below its foundations.
Does flood risk affect a kitchen extension in Fulham?
It can. Over 60% of the borough's area is in Flood Zones 2 and 3, and key principle FR1 requires a site-specific Flood Risk Assessment for development proposals in those zones and in surface water flooding hotspots.
Sources: LBHF - Permitted development rights, legislation.gov.uk - Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2 Part 1 Class A, LBHF - Properties affected by Article 4 Directions (register of directions), LBHF Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (adopted February 2018), legislation.gov.uk - Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 1 Part 1 (Article 2(3) land), GOV.UK - Leasehold property, GOV.UK - Party walls and building work, legislation.gov.uk - Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 6
Sources
- LBHF Planning Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (adopted February 2018)
- LBHF - Conservation areas
- LBHF - Permitted development rights
- LBHF Local Plan (adopted February 2018)
- legislation.gov.uk - Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 2 Part 1 Class A
- legislation.gov.uk - Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, Schedule 1 Part 1 (Article 2(3) land)
- LBHF - Properties affected by Article 4 Directions (register of directions)
- LBHF — Article 4 Directions (planning policy page)
- LBHF - Statutory listed buildings
- GOV.UK - Party walls and building work
- legislation.gov.uk - Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 6
- GOV.UK - Building regulations approval
- LBHF - Construction site noise and dust pollution
- LBHF - Planning frequently asked questions
- GOV.UK - Leasehold property
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